The relationship between sexual sensation seeking and problematic Internet pornography use: A moderated mediation model examining roles of online sexual activities and the third-person effect

Lijun Chen; Ying Yang; Wenliang Su; Lijun Zheng; Cody Ding; Marc N Potenza

doi:10.1556/2006.7.2018.77

The relationship between sexual sensation seeking and problematic Internet pornography use: A moderated mediation model examining roles of online sexual activities and the third-person effect

J Behav Addict. 2018 Sep 1;7(3):565-573. doi: 10.1556/2006.7.2018.77. Epub 2018 Sep 11.

Authors

Lijun Chen^{1

2

3}, Ying Yang², Wenliang Su^{1

2

3}, Lijun Zheng⁴, Cody Ding⁵, Marc N Potenza^{3

6

7

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ 1 Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Fuzhou University , Fuzhou, China.
² 2 Department of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Fuzhou University , Fuzhou, China.
³ 3 Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven, CT, USA.
⁴ 4 Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University , Chongqing, China.
⁵ 5 Educational Psychology, University of Missouri-St. Louis , St. Louis, MO, USA.
⁶ 6 Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven, CT, USA.
⁷ 7 Department of Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven, CT, USA.
⁸ 8 Connecticut Mental Health Center , New Haven, CT, USA.
⁹ 9 Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling , Wethersfield, CT, USA.

Abstract

Background and aims: Internet pornography consumption is prevalent among college students and problematic for some, yet little is known regarding the psychological constructs underlying problematic Internet pornography use (PIPU). Drawing on the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution model, this study tested a model that sexual sensation seeking (SSS) would impact PIPU through online sexual activities (OSAs) and that this relationship would be influenced by the third-person effect (TPE; a social cognitive bias relating to perceived impacts on others as compared to oneself) in a gender-sensitive manner.

Methods: A total of 808 Chinese college students (age range: 17-22 years, 57.7% male) were recruited and surveyed.

Results: Men scored higher than women on OSAs and PIPU and on each scale's component factors. The relationship between SSS and PIPU was mediated by OSAs, and the TPE moderated this relationship: the predictive path (SSS to PIPU) was significant only in participants with high TPE. The moderated mediation model was not invariant across gender groups, with data suggesting that it accounted for a greater proportion of the variance in men as compared with women.

Discussion and conclusions: The findings suggest that SSS may operate through participation in OSAs to lead to PIPU, and this relationship is particularly relevant for college-aged males scoring high on the TPE. These findings have implications for individuals who might be particularly vulnerable to developing PIPU and for guiding educational efforts and targeting interventions in college-aged students. The extent to which these findings extend to other age groups and cultures warrants further examination.

Keywords: gender; moderated mediation; online sexual activities; problematic Internet pornography use; sexual sensation seeking; third-person effect.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Erotica / psychology
Female
Humans
Internet*
Male
Models, Psychological
Risk-Taking*
Sex Factors
Sexual Behavior / psychology*
Students
Young Adult

Grants and funding

Funding sources: This work was supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China (grant number: CEA150173). Dr. MNP’s involvement was supported by the National Center for Responsible Gaming. The funding agencies did not have input into the content of the manuscript and the views described in the manuscript reflect those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funding agencies.